Sustainable Scituate makes pitch for electricity switch

Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 8:00 AM

Two petition articles on the special Town Meeting warrant could continue to move Scituate forward as a “green community.”

Article 13 would allow electricity consumers in Scituate to switch to a cleaner source of electricity, while Article 14, a non-binding article, would resolve to increase renewable energy credits on the town’s basic supply service.

Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, allows a community to seamlessly switch to cleaner sources of electricity for everyone who is on basic service, including residents and small businesses.

“This is a process, enabled by a 1997 state law, that allows towns and cities to choose electricity that is generated in a way that aligns with their community’s values,” said Lisa Scanlon, a member of Sustainable Scituate.

According to Scanlon, CCA allows any Massachusetts city or town to combine all of its electrical customers into a single bargaining unit, which can then choose to discontinue its default electricity supplier, i.e., Eversource and National Grid for Scituate, and make its own decision about a different electricity supplier.

Electricity generation is a major source of climate change-causing pollution, Scanlon said.

“Through CCA, Scituate could choose an electrical supplier that could provide a higher fraction of electricity from clean renewable sources,” she said.

CCA is safer and smarter, said Lisa Bertola, also a member of Sustainable Scituate.

“We, via a vetted broker, can shop for power that is cheaper and cleaner,” she said. “All it takes is the will of the people, and we have that in Scituate. Scituate has always been a leader as a green community on the South Shore.”

The greatest attraction is local control, Scanlon said.

“Important energy decisions would be made by the community, rather than by a for-profit utility company.”

In addition, the process provides more consumer protection and transparency as the final plan must be reviewed and approved by the Mass Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Scanlon said.

CCA legislation protects consumers as bulk purchasing power allows all of the residents on basic service to shop for energy off cycle, compared to the utilities who can only shop at certain times of the year, during warmer seasons when power is cheaper, Bertola said.

There is no middleman.

Consumers can have competitively priced power that is cleaner, or say no thanks, at no cost to the town.

“In fact, in terms of long term avoidance of pollution and its expensive consequences, the town and its taxpayers make out better,” Bertola continued.

National Grid would continue to be Scituate’s electricity utility, and would continue to service Scituate with distribution, maintenance of power lines, and billing. National Grid would also continue to supply electricity using its infrastructure, would continue to provide maintenance, and would continue to bill customers for their electricity.

“Switching suppliers would not affect customer service from National Grid,” Scanlon said. “National Grid makes its money by delivering electricity. Their profit does not change when the supplier changes.”

The only change would be that more electricity would come from high quality renewable sources, such as solar, wind, and digester gas, which means a decrease in electricity bought that comes from fossil fuel sources, Scanlon said.

By law, any household can easily opt out at any time at no cost, and can opt in later if they choose.

If no plans or energy prices are deemed acceptable, there is no obligation for the town to proceed.

CCA is fiscally and environmentally sound for Scituate, Bertola said.

“If the town officials listen to our Town Resolution (Article 14) and increase our Class 1 renewables by even as little as 5 percent, that would be the equivalent of removing approximately 3.3 million pounds of carbon from the atmosphere, or the electricity for 228 homes for a year, or 2,500 barrels of oil, or 325 passenger vehicles for a year. Imagine what a 25 percent Class 1 renewables increase would mean,” said Bertola.

If approved, the CCA process is projected to take 18 months.

“Increasing our renewable sources of electricity through the CCA process is the single biggest step that Scituate can take to significantly reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and have an impact on climate change right now,” Scanlon said.